Celtiberians/History
Spain is situated at the western most portion of the European continent. So it is not surprising that from early in its history, as successive waves of peoples that migrated throughout Europe, many would end up in the Iberian Peninsula. Its geography also forms a strategic gateway between the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean and between Europe and Africa, that would point to its importance in world history. The first to arrived in the region were a people called the Iberians from North Africa. These people would mix with the Celts who were next to settle in the region as they migrated across Europe. Together, forming what would be considered the foundation of what would be the Spanish people. Although the Spanish would fall victim to the expansionist Roman republic, the Celtiberi would eventually obtain latinitas and would contribute some of Rome's most famous writers. Two of Rome's emperors would even be recruited from Spain. Dawn of the Iberians The word "iberian", known in Greek cutlure since 500BCE was probably derived of the river Ebro, a natural frontier between the new settlers (who were believed by the Greeks to have first arrived from Africa more than two millenia before) and the whole peninsula. By around 1900BCE the Iberians established a system of city-states which were ruled by despotic warrior or priestly castes. The Iberian society was developing into a sophisticated society based the trade of metals and minerals that was abundant in the region. As the westernmost landmass in Europe, it is no surprise however that more would arrive and settle in the area. From around 1200BCE the Celts, in several waves came into the region as they migrated across the swath of Europe, and spread into the Peninsula and so by the onset of the Punic Wars, the Iberian peoples were split into three different groups — the north of Iberia, between the Douro (or Durius) and the Cantabrian coast were vastly Celtic like many other tribes to the north-east beyond the Pyrenees, while the centre was occupied by peoples whose culture was a fusion of both Celtic and Iberian customs, hence "Celt-Iberians" in differing degrees of "Celticisation". The coastal areas of the east and south, however, were more cosmopolitan due to their being exposed to foreign cultural influence through commerce and conquest. The Celtiberians The Celtiberians differed from the Iberian proper, by several ways : they were considered to be militaristic, making and a giving great significance to weapons. Like the Celts, the Celtiberians used long double-edged swords and Halstatt-type helmets. But Unlike the Celts, they wore no trousers or "braca" but short sleeves similar to the later roman Femoralla. They were also given leather jackets and bronze plates or bronze scale armors instead of chainmail, which was lately adopted. Local iberian castra had a strong inluence over western Lusitanians who used very large versions. Masks of war were also used by these populations. In any case, Greek and Roman sources attest the existence of cultural sophistication and social organisation in all Iberia in the pre-Roman era. While some of the more isolated communities such as those in the mountainous regions of Gallaecia and the Pyrenees were organised on a tribal basis, some of the more urbanised areas of pre-Roman Iberia could be best described as feudal republics, with voting power prescribed to the nobility, while others had their own kings (regulii in Latin). Contacts with outsiders Around the same time, Phoenician merchants attracted by the wealth of resources in the region began to establish their own settlements along the coast in order to trade with the Celtiberians, whose lands were rich with precious metals including iron, copper and gold. Their most important trading post was Gadir (Cadiz as it is now known), which is the oldest city in Western Europe even predating their more famous City of Carthage. In fact, the Phoenicians established their maritime empire and colonies to support their sea routes to and from their trading posts in Spain with their capital at Tyre (in present-day Lebanon) in the eastern Mediterranean. With the loss of Tyre in 680BCE, however, Tyre's role as the centre of Phoenician trade was taken up by the city-state of Carthage in north Africa, setting the stage for one of the greatest rivalries in history. Greek merchants began to arrive in the Iberian coast as early as the 8th century BCE, setting up their own trading posts and founding several towns, including Emporio (Ampurias) and Rhodaes (Rosas) and Saguntum (Sagunto). The geographic gateway to the Atlantic was known as the Pillars of Hercules, and owes its namesake to the legends in Greek Mythology that sprung from the wealth to be had in the region. Both of these two great cultures had come from the Eastern Mediterranean, all the way to the westernmost part of Europe, attesting Spain's imortance not only as a strategic area but also as a valuable resource in its own right. The conflict between the Phoenicians and the Greeks over the Spanish trading posts were always a point of contention between the two civilisations. But by the around 3rd century BCE, Greek influence was in decline, with the Romans as the rising power in the northern Mediterranean. The Romans naturally took on the role of protectorate to the Greek colonies in Spain. Carthage in its struggle against Rome, lost its colonies in Sicily during the First Punic War. In order to compensate for this, the Carthaginians decided to take control of Spain, in order to use it as a staging area in their conflicts with the Romans. The Carthaginians lead by Hamilcar Barca invades Spain in 237 B.C.and founds the city of Akra Leuke (Alicante), his son-in-law Hasdrubal founds Cartago Nova (Cartagena). Then in 218 B.C. Hamilcar's son, Hannibal, takes Saguntum in what would be the starting point for the Second Punic War. While gaining initial success in their war against Rome, the Romans ingeniously attacked the Carthaginians in their homeland and in a stunning victory at Zama, forced the Carthaginians to cede all of their colonial possessions including Spain to Rome. The Romans would extend their control over the region beyond the Carthaginian colonies into the rest of Spain over the next two hundred years. By 27 B.C. the Romans finally managed to pacify the Peninsula once and for all and divide it into three provinces: Tarraconense, Baetica and Lusitania. The Romans did not only leave their imprint in the region administratively, but Spain went through a thorough process of Romanization that would last until the end of the Roman Empire half a millenium later. Every aspect of Spanish culture was effected, if not completely supplanted. Family and social life (including the love of gladiatorial games, which was eventually replaced with the festive Bull fights for which now Spain is famous for) to law, language and religion (Christianity being eventually introduced into the region) through its Romanization. The only exception was the Basque. By 74 A.D. all Spaniards were granted Roman citizenship. In 98 A.D. Spain even offered one of its own in that of Trajan who not only became the Emperor of the Roman Empire, but one of its most successful and celebrated rulers. Ancient-battles The Celtiberians allied themselves with Hamilcar Barca when he landed in southern spain in order to conquer a new empire after the loss of Sicilia and several other islands in the western mediterranean. From 236 to his death in 228 bc, he gained the Carthaginians an impressive territory, both by arms and diplomacy. The Celtiberians prove themselves truthful allies of his son Hannibal when he took command of the army and launched his campaign against Saguntum. They proved also their skills and courage, beeing probably the best mercenaries in Hannibal's army in Italy and even in Africa. With their bellicose behaviour, mixed armaments and tactics, a territory protected on its only land frontier by a mountain ridge, rich and fertile lands, abundant with iron, the best in Europe, the Celtiberians are the best placed for an hegemony in the whole peninsula, over other iberians, fellow Lusitanians, Galicians and Asturians, to hold in respect the Gauls beyond the Pyrrhenees and in the south-east, the ever ambitious Carthaginians... References Ancient Battles; The ancient celtiberian armies and peoples One Dead Angel; Spain — a Guide; Rise of Nations Heaven